Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

Z195-14 Protective Footwear

CAN/CSA Z195 provides test methods and performance standards for Protective Footwear that will be sold in Canada. There are two grades of toe impact resistance and there are additional special requirements for puncture resistant protective soles, metatarsal protection, electrical shock protection, conductive, static dissipative footwear and chainsaw protection.

The 2014 revision introduced a Super Static Dissipative footwear, marking SD+, and some

corresponding changes to the labelling requirements (colored patches).

All footwear except conductive and static dissipative must have protective toecaps fitted.

 

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

CSA safety footwear requires certification by CSA. A few pairs of each toe cap size plus additional samples for ESR testing are submitted to CSA for testing.

In addition, the factory must be registered and audited by CSA every 6 months.

If the factory has CSA certified lab (as per GCC for example) then all testing can be done in the factory.

GCC HAVE CSA ACCREDITED (ISO 17025) LAB AND CAN PERFORM TESTING ON-SITE

 

PRODUCT GROUPING

Product grouping is allowed for different stock numbers that have the same last, toe cap, outsole, penetration plate, metatarsal protector and method of construction. Any changes in any of these will require that the footwear is recertified.

 

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

The protective toecap (4.2) must be incorporated into the footwear during manufacturing and it should be an integral part of the footwear. The protective toecap must be made of a material that meets the requirements for impact resistance (Grade 1 or 2). It must be smoothly finished and all the edges and corners should be rounded.

The puncture resistant protective sole (4.3) (when incorporated in the footwear) should cover the sole including the heel area, the outer edge of the protective sole plate should be no more than 8mm from the feather edge of the last and extend from the toe to at least 10 millimeters past the breast of the heel and be no more than 13mm from the feather edge around the heel area. If the footwear has no defined heel, the outside edge of the protective sole plate shall be no more than 8mm from the feather edge all around the last.

The metatarsal protector (4.4) (when incorporated in the footwear) must cover the complete dorsum of the foot and it should be an integral part of the footwear. The metatarsal protector must overlap the edge of the protective toe cap, and attached in a manner that the footwear can be laced and unlaced if applicable.

The heel (4.5) height shall not exceed 60 millimeters from the ground to the top of the sole at the heel breast. Additionally, the construction must ensure that the heel of the foot is not lower than the ball of the foot when the footwear is on a level surface.

The sole of Electrical Shock Resistant (ESR) footwear (4.6) shall not be penetrated by conductive or potentially conductive material (eg. Screws, nails, staples, threads, fibers), and be of sufficient thickness to protect the wearer from conductive or potentially conductive materials under normal use, and wear.

(Note: under wet conditions, it is possible that the footwear will not meet the test requirements)

Static dissipative (SD) footwear (4.7) (both Conventional SD and Super SD+) shall be

constructed to reduce the accumulation of excess static electricity by conducting body charge to ground.

Conductive Footwear (4.8) shall be constructed with a sole made from conductive compound and be chemically bound to the bottom components, for permanent control, to electrically ground the foot.

Chainsaw protective footwear (4.9) shall prevent a running chainsaw from cutting all the way through the boot upper and protective toecap.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

Test specimens should be finished, unworn protective footwear selected at random from production that is at least 14 days old, sufficient samples shall be tested to cover the full range of sizes available.

All test specimens should be conditioned for a minimum of 24 hours at room temperature before being tested at room temperature. However, 50% of the samples for impact tests shall be conditioned at minus 18°C ± 2°C for a minimum of 12 hours and then tested at room temperature within 60 seconds (2 min.) of removing from the cold.

Protective Toecap Corrosion (5.1)

The protective toe cap shall not be adversely affected by corrosion after exposure to 5% salt solution for 24 hours in accordance with ASTM B117.

Protective Toecap Impact (5.2)

Toe sections taken from finished footwear are tested and suitable drop heights must be used to obtain the impact velocity shown below according to grade of impact resistance. The test clearances shown below must be found and the toecap must not fracture through its thickness.

 

Grade	Toe Impact Energy (Joules)	Impact Velocity (m/sec)
1	125	3.32
2	90	2.82

 

Note: A test is specified for checking that the modeling clay is of the correct quality and not too hard or soft. This test must be carried out at least once every 6 months.

 

Clearance (mm)	Men’s sizes	Women’s sizes
10.7	-	3
11.2	1 ½ -3	3 ½ -5
11.7	3 ½ -5	5 ½ -7
12.2	5 ½ -7	7 ½ -9
12.7	7 ½ -9	9 ½ -11
13.2	9 ½ -11	11 ½ -13
13.7	11 ½ - 13 ½	-
14.2	14 -15

 

Note: The CSA standard does not include compression testing.

 

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Protective Sole (5.2)

The protective sole insert (tested by itself) should;

• Withstand a minimum puncture force of 1,200 N (steel test pin) (5.2.1)

• Show no signs of corrosion after being exposed to a 5% salt solution for 24 hours in

accordance with ASTM B117 (5.2.2)

• Show no visible signs of cracking after it has been subjected to 1.5 million flexes (5.2.3)

Metatarsal Protection (5.3)

Footwear offering metatarsal protection must be designed and constructed with integral

metatarsal guards. Men’s size 9 and women’s size 8 shall be impact tested using an impact

energy of 101.7 Joules (impact velocity 2.99 ± 0.06 m/s) and shall not fracture through its

thickness.

A PU foot form is used together with a modeling clay cylinder. The test clearances after the metatarsal impact tests are:

Men – 24.4mm Women – 21.4mm

In addition, the metatarsal protectors shall not be adversely affected by corrosion when tested using ASTM B117 (5.3.3)

 

Electric Shock Resistant Footwear (5.4)

Each test specimen should withstand under dry conditions, a test potential of 18kV at 60 Hz

for 1 minute without disruptive discharge to ground and the leakage current must not exceed

1 mA. (The current shall be recorded at the beginning and at the end of the test period).

Static Dissipative Footwear (2-tier performance scheme) (5.5)

Conventional Static Dissipative Footwear (SD) (5.5.1)

The electrical resistance of each test specimen tested at 500 V in a tray of water shall fall

within the range 106 to 108 Ώ for a period of 5 seconds.

Super Static Dissipative Footwear (SD+) (5.5.2)

When tested with ASTM F2412 each test specimen tested shall fall within the range 106 to

3.5 x107 Ώ. (1 to 35 Mega Ohm).

Conductive Footwear (5.6)

The electrical resistance of each test specimen tested at 500 V in a tray of water shall fall

within a range of 0 to 500,000 Ω for a period of 5 seconds.

Chainsaw Protective Footwear (5.7)

Shall prevent a running chainsaw from cutting all the way through the boot upper. Protective

toe caps that are not constructed of steel at least 1.6mm thick shall also prevent a running

chain saw from cutting all the way through the cap.

Slip Resisting Footwear (5.8) Mandatory Slip resistance testing if feature is claimed

Slip resistant footwear should have men’s size 9 and/or women’s size 8 tested following

ISO 13287 in ‘Heel’ and ‘Flat’ contact modes using the following test surfaces.

• Dry Quarry tile

• Quarry tile wetted with distilled water

• Stainless steel wetted with distilled water

The results of the slip testing shall be provided with the footwear.

 

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IDENTIFICATION (MARKING AND LABELING) (7.1)

At least one shoe or boot of each pair must bear the following information permanently

marked in a conspicuous location

• Manufacturer’s or Listee’s name or trademark or, the certification agency’s identification number

• The year and month of manufacture (date codes may be used)

• The certification agency’s logo or mark on the outside of the footwear

• The grade (Grade 1/ Grade 2) of toe protection and any type of additional protection

provided.

In addition to the marking requirements of the standard, CSA also require all footwear to bear a permanent marking indicating the outsole construction, style or name. The marking shall be located under the top portion of the tongue or inside the right shoe/boot and shall be traceable to each submitter's certification record.

Footwear identified as Slip-resisting (slip resistant) shall have the six mean coefficients of

friction (CoF) attained during testing specified either on the packaging or on a label affixed to the footwear (hang-tag).

The six mean coefficients of friction attained during testing should be specified on a product

information sheet included with each pair of footwear. The data may also be displayed on

box/container labels. These six values represent the coefficients of friction attained for the

heel and flat of the sole on the two primary test slipping surfaces: stainless steel and quarry

tile.

The following is a suggested format for the statement of slip resistance performance:

 

This footwear has been tested in accordance with the slip resisting

requirements of CSA Z195. The following average coefficients of friction

(CoFs) were attained under the specified test conditions:

Wet stainless steel ____ Heel CoF ____ Flat CoF

Wet quarry tile ____ Heel CoF ____ Flat CoF

Dry quarry tile ____ Heel CoF ____ Flat CoF

 

In addition, a statement directing the user to "Seek the advice of the footwear manufacturer or distributor regarding appropriate application based on test results" shall be included on the footwear hang-tag, the packaging, or a product information sheet provided with each pair of footwear.

 

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Additional colored patches that are permanent in nature and of a material compatible with the footwear shall be applied to the outside of the right shoe at ankle height or on the tongue as specified below. In all cases the ® that is shown in the label can be omitted or replaced by the CSA logo in the specified color.

 

 

A green triangle (sides at least 15mm in length) to indicate sole puncture protection with a grade 1 protective toe.

 

Blue square (sides at least 7.5mm) to indicate grade 1 protective toe without protective sole.

 

 

A yellow triangle (sides at least 15mm in length) indicates sole puncture protection with a grade 2 protective toe.

 

 

Grey square (sides at least 7.5mm) indicates grade 2 protective toe without protective sole.

 

White rectangle (not less than 15mm x 7.5mm) with an orange omega symbol indicates electric shock protection (ESR) – Additional printed label or tag attached to the footwear that states “Warning: Electric shock resistance deteriorates with wear and in a wet environment” and «AVERTISSEMENT:La résistance aux chocs électriques se détériore rapidement en milieu humide et avec l’usure»

 

 

Yellow rectangle (not less than 15mm x 7.5mm) with black ‘SD’ or ‘SD+’ symbols indicating Static dissipative and Super static dissipative respectively – Additional printed label or tag attached to the footwear that states “Warning: This footwear should not be used in areas where there is a hazard of electric discharge” and «AVERTISSEMENT:Cette chaussure ne doit pas être portée dans des endroits où il a risqué de décharge électrique »

   

Red rectangle (no less than 15 x 7.5mm) with white ‘C’ indicating electrically conductive – Additional printed label or tag attached to the footwear that states “WARNING: This footwear should not be used where contact with live electrical conductors can occur” and «AVERTISSEMENT:Cette chayssure ne doit pas être portée dans des endroits où il a risqué de décharge électrique»

 White rectangle (no less than 15mm x 7.5mm) with green fir tree symbol indicates chainsaw protection.

 

 

Dark grey rectangle (no less than 15mm x 7.5mm) with white M for metatarsal protection.

 

Combination Labels

The footwear manufacturer may mark the product with multiple labels- it is also possible but

not mandatory to combine labels and examples are given in the standard.